The Devil’s at the Elgin is Jarman’s reworking of the film he designed for Ken Russell. Filmed off the screen at the Elgin Cinema, Jarman’s version condenses the film into a few moments of original screen time, using the repetition of images to accentuate the terror of religion. Pirate Tape records a moment of writer William Burroughs’ visit to London. Jarman’s use of the same freezing technique we saw in Gerald’s Film gives the moment gravity. Waiting for Waiting for Godot records a rehearsal for the Samuel Beckett play performed at RADA and designed by John Maybury. Here, Jarman makes the play as hard to glimpse as Godot, substituting film and video texture for acting. B2, named after the B2 gallery in London where it was first shown, is the result of a self imposed competition between a group of filmmakers (Jarman, John Maybury, Cerith Wynn-Evans, Michael Kostiff and others). The competition sparked creative energy as the filmmakers strove to prepare new work for fortnightly screenings. B2 Movie documents the places and the people in Jarman’s life over a few months in London in 1982.

Karola Gramann, James Mackay